A new GSMA report highlights a growth of 16 % of the value of mobile money transactions, reaching 1.68 billion of dollars.
Mobile Money has crossed two important steps in 2024, exceeding two billion recorded accounts and more than half a billion monthly active users around the world. The industry took 18 years to reach a billion recorded accounts and 250 million active users from 2001, but doubled in size in the next five years. This is what emerges from the “report on the state of the Money 2025 mobile industry” prepared by the GSMA mobile money program, which works to advance the Mobile Money ecosystem for communities around the world which do not have access to traditional banking services.
Its latest report reveals that the volumes and values of the transactions of mobile money accounts experienced strong two -digit growth in 2024. About 108 billion transactions, totaling more than $ 1.68 billion of dollars, were processed via mobile money accounts in 2024. From one year to the other, transactions volumes increased by 20 %, while the transactions values 16 %, against an increase of 13 % in 2023.
According to Vivek Badrinath, Managing Director of GSMA, Lev Mobile Money has become a powerful engine of financial inclusion and economic growth.
“Its continuous success depends on favorable regulatory environments that promote innovation, accessibility and help to release all socio-economic potential. To ensure that Mobile Money remains accessible, affordable and safe, it is essential that governments and regulators collaborate with financial service providers to support financial education programs, empower badly served populations and open up new prospects for financial decisions. “, He comments.
Mobile Money continues to play a key role in economic development. At the end of 2023, total GDP of countries with mobile money services was more than $ 720 billion greater than it would have been without them, which reflects a 1.7 % increase in GDP due to the Mobile Money. In sub -Saharan Africa only, from one year to the next, Mobile Money added about 190 billion dollars to GDP in 2023, which demonstrates its sustained economic influence.
Sub-Saharan Africa in mind, while East-Pacific Asia is growing
Sub -Saharan Africa remains the most active world region in terms of mobile money, driven by new recorded accounts and growing monthly activity in East and West Africa. East Africa was the main engine of the growth of monthly active accounts in 2024, followed by Southeast Asia and West Africa.
East-Pacific Asia has also made significant progress, recording the second fastest growth rate for monthly active accounts, just behind the Middle East and North Africa. It should be noted that the region has seen the active accounts over 30 days grow more quickly than the accounts recorded, supported by favorable regulatory environments in markets such as Cambodia, Fiji, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The GSMA notes that in Asia in East and in the Pacific, many mobile money suppliers have become full -service financial platforms, offering a wide range of products to meet the needs of users; Indeed, the most efficient suppliers are often those who actively innovate in the extent of their offers.
Use cases continue to ripen
Mobile Money suppliers offer more and more related financial services such as credit, savings and insurance. In June 2024, 44 % of suppliers offered credit services, making it the most used related financial product. Savings services were offered by approximately a third of suppliers, while insurance remains the least common, with around 28 % of suppliers who offer it.
Despite growth, obstacles persist
Despite progress, several obstacles to adoption persist, especially among women. Among the 12 countries studied, eight continue to present a gap between the sexes in terms of possession of mobile money accounts, with little improvement since 2023. The lack of awareness and the low digital financial culture are important obstacles, especially for women.
However, women who have mobile money accounts are almost as likely that men have used them in the past 30 days. The GSMA explains that to meet these challenges, almost 60 % of mobile money suppliers have launched digital financial education initiatives in order to improve financial skills and promote adoption over time.
GSMA is a global organization that brings together the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and offer a fundamental innovation to positive commercial environments and societal change. Representing mobile operators and organizations of the mobile ecosystem and related industries, the GSMA works for its members through three major pillars: connectivity for good, industrial services and solutions, and awareness.
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